Buyer's Guide
Do You Need a Buyer's Agent?
In Florida you canbuy a home without your own agent. But “unrepresented” usually means the only licensed person in the deal answers to the seller. Here's the honest version of when a buyer's agent is worth it — and when it isn't.
Straight Answer First
You don't have to hire one. You almost always should.
Nothing in Florida law forces a buyer to be represented. You can call the listing agent, tour a home, and write an offer with no agent of your own. The question isn't whether it's allowed — it's whether it's wise.
When you go direct to the listing agent, the only professional in the transaction has a relationship with the seller. When you bring your own buyer's agent, someone's duty runs to you — on price, on the contract, on inspections, and on the deadlines that can cost you your deposit. And because of how compensation usually works, that representation often costs a buyer little or nothing out of pocket. The rest of this page is the honest tradeoff, plus what the 2024 rules actually changed.
Side-by-Side
Your Agent vs. Going Direct to the Listing Agent
| What you get | Your Buyer's Agent | Listing Agent (Unrepresented) |
|---|---|---|
| Who the agent represents | You | The seller |
| Negotiates price & terms on your behalf | ✓ | — |
| Shows you every home (all brokerages, FSBO, new build) | ✓ | Mostly their own listings |
| Reviews your contract & contingencies for your protection | ✓ | Drafts to protect the seller |
| Coordinates inspection & advocates on repairs | ✓ | Partial |
| Florida relationship to you | Single agent or transaction broker for you | Seller's agent / transaction broker |
| Cost to you | Often covered by seller concession (negotiable) | You may not pocket the savings anyway |
| New construction | Represents you vs. the builder | Builder's agent works for the builder |
Florida's default brokerage relationship is the transaction broker (limited representation). Confirm your specific relationship in writing with any agent.
What Actually Changed
The 2024 NAR Settlement, in Plain English
You may have read that “buyer's agents are going away.” They're not. What changed, as of the National Association of Realtors settlement that took effect in August 2024, are two practical rules:
Rule 1
Compensation is off the MLS
Offers of buyer-agent compensation can no longer be advertised on the MLS. It's now negotiated directly — often written into the purchase contract as a seller concession, or paid by the buyer per their agreement.
Rule 2
A written agreement comes first
Buyers now sign a written buyer-broker agreement before touring a home. It states the services, the term, and how the agent is paid — and every line of it is negotiable.
The net effect: representation is now an explicit choice you make, not an automatic default buried in the MLS. That makes understanding it more important, not less. In most Orlando transactions, sellers still contribute to the buyer's side — it's simply negotiated in the open now.
An Honest Caveat
When Going Without an Agent Can Make Sense
We won't pretend every buyer needs full representation on every deal. There are real cases where going direct is a reasonable choice — as long as it's a choice, not an accident.
You're an experienced cash buyer
If you've closed many deals, read contracts fluently, and are paying cash on a straightforward home, you may be comfortable handling the transaction with the listing side and an attorney. You're trading representation for control — go in with eyes open.
You're buying from family or a known FSBO
When you already know the seller and are negotiating directly, a buyer's agent adds less on the discovery and access front. You may still want one — or a real estate attorney — purely for contract and closing protection.
You've pinpointed the exact home
If you've truly found the one and just need transactional help, you have leverage to negotiate a limited-scope buyer-broker agreement rather than a full one. The point is to choose representation deliberately, not to skip it by accident.
Where Representation Pays
Where a Buyer's Agent Earns Their Keep
Negotiation and leverage
Price is only one term. An experienced buyer's agent negotiates repairs, closing-cost credits, appraisal and inspection contingencies, timelines, and the dozens of clauses in Florida's AS-IS contract that quietly shift risk. On a single deal, that work routinely outweighs the cost of representation.
Access beyond the public feed
Coming-soon, off-market, and quietly-marketed homes often trade through the brokerage network before they hit the portals. A working local agent hears about that inventory early — and steers you away from homes that look great online but have a problem they recognize on sight.
Contract and contingency protection
The listing agent's paperwork is built to protect the seller. Your agent makes sure your earnest money, financing, inspection, and appraisal contingencies actually protect you, and that deadlines don't lapse in a way that costs you your deposit.
New construction representation
Builder contracts favor the builder, and the on-site agent answers to the builder. Your own agent reviews the contract, extracts incentives, and orders independent inspections at framing, pre-drywall, and final walkthrough — usually at no cost to you because the builder pays the commission.
Common Questions
Buyer Representation, Answered
Do I have to pay my own buyer's agent now?+
Not necessarily — but it's now an explicit conversation. Since the National Association of Realtors settlement took effect in August 2024, buyer-agent compensation is fully negotiable and can no longer be advertised on the MLS. In practice, many Orlando sellers still offer to cover some or all of the buyer's agent fee — it's just negotiated inside the purchase contract now instead of being assumed. Your buyer-broker agreement spells out what your agent is owed; if the seller doesn't cover all of it, that gap is negotiated as part of your offer. The takeaway: ask up front, get it in writing, and treat it as one more negotiable term — not a hidden, automatic cost.
Can I just call the listing agent to see a house?+
You can — but understand who that agent works for. The listing agent has a relationship with the seller. In Florida they're usually the seller's single agent or a transaction broker, and either way their job is to sell that home on the seller's terms. If you tour and write through them with no representation of your own, the only licensed professional in the deal is aligned with the other side. Some buyers are comfortable with that on a simple cash purchase; most are better served having someone whose duty runs to them.
Do I actually save money by skipping a buyer's agent?+
Usually not — the savings rarely land in your pocket automatically. If a seller has agreed to pay a buyer-side fee and you show up unrepresented, that money typically stays on the listing side or with the seller unless you negotiate it down as a price reduction — which is precisely the kind of thing an agent does for you. Going unrepresented removes a negotiator from your side of the table without guaranteeing you the commission. If price is the goal, a skilled buyer's agent who wins concessions, repairs, and a sharper purchase price usually more than covers their cost.
Do I have to sign a buyer-broker agreement?+
Yes — as of the August 2024 NAR settlement, a buyer must sign a written agreement with their agent before touring a home with them. This is normal and protects you: it states what services you'll get, how long it lasts, and how the agent is paid. Everything in it is negotiable. You can limit it to a single property, a short window, or a specific area, and you should read the compensation and term sections carefully before signing. A written agreement isn't a trap — it's the document that makes the agent accountable to you.
Is dual agency legal in Florida?+
No. Florida law (Fla. Stat. 475.278) prohibits true dual agency — one agent cannot be a single agent (full fiduciary) for both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction. What can happen is a listing agent acting as a transaction broker for both sides, which is limited representation: honesty and fair dealing, but no undivided loyalty to you. That's very different from having your own agent advocating only for your interests. This page is general information, not legal advice — confirm your specific relationship in writing with any agent you work with.
Do I need a buyer's agent for new construction?+
Yes, and the builder typically pays the buyer's agent. The friendly representative in the model home works for the builder, not for you — they protect the builder's pricing and use the builder's contract, which heavily favors the builder. Your own agent reviews that contract, negotiates incentives you may not know to ask for, and coordinates independent inspections during the build. Not bringing your own agent doesn't lower the price; the builder simply keeps that commission. See our full new construction vs. resale guide for how builder deals really work.
Want someone whose only job is your side of the table?
A quick call is the easiest way to understand your options — representation, the buyer-broker agreement, and who pays for what — before you tour a single home.